Cookie use on MRCVSonline
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive all cookies.

Wild dogs use sneezes to vote on when the pack will move on and begin hunting, according to new research.

Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study suggests that African wild dogs hold high energy greeting ceremonies called ‘social rallies’ after periods of rest before they move off together again.

The more sneezes that occur during these rallies, the more likely it is that the pack will leave.

The behaviour was observed by an international team of scientists while studying African wild dogs in Botswana.

Senior author Dr Neil Jordan, a research fellow at the University of New South Wales, said: “I wanted to better understand this collective behaviour and noticed the dogs were sneezing while preparing to go.

“We recorded details of 68 social rallies from five African wild dog packs living in the Okavango Delta in Botswana, and couldn’t quite believe it when our analysis confirmed our suspicions.”

But there is a further twist to the tail, as the study’s first author Reena Walker of Brown University in the USA, explained:

“We found that when the dominant male and female were involved in the rally, the pack only had to sneeze a few times before they would move off. However, if the dominant pair were not engaged, more sneezes were needed - approximately 10 - before the pack would move off”.

It was previously thought that the dogs were just clearing their airways when they sneezed.

Dr Andrew King of Swansea University and co-author of the study said: “The sneezes act as a type of quorum, and the sneezes have to reach a certain threshold before the group changes activity.

“Quorums are also used by other social carnivores like meerkats, but our finding that the quorum member of sneezes changes, based on who’s involved in the rally, indicates each dog’s vote in not equal”.

Natural England has announced a new scheme to improve flood protection, boost wildlife and create 160 hectares of new saltmarsh. The £6 million scheme in Lancashire will effectively unite the RSPB’s Hesketh Out Marsh Reserve and Natural England’s Ribble Estuary National Nature Reserve. The completed reserve will be the largest site of its kind in the north of England.

Students and ethics experts will host an event on the difficult moral challenges facing vets. Ethical issues, such as euthanasia and breeding animals for certain physical traits, will be discussed by prominent speakers including TV vet Emma Milne and RSPCA chief vet James Yeates. Other topics will include how to tackle suspected animal abuse and the extent of surgical intervention.

The conference will look at how these dilemmas affect the wellbeing of vets, and explore how to better prepare veterinary students for work. It will be held at the University of Edinburgh’s Easter Bush Campus from 30 September - 1 October 2017. Tickets can be purchased here.